Close results in round one show Batavia Bowling League men’s pennants season likely to be competitive

The Batavia Bowling League pennant season promises to be an unpredictable one.

Round one, played on Saturday, revealed how even the competition is, with the biggest margin seven shots between Wonthella Maroon and Geraldton Gold at Wonthella.

It also put an early dampener on the idea of home advantage with three games going to the travelling teams.

Mullewa and Wonthella Gold went to the wire at Mullewa, with the visitors getting the result by one shot.

Wonthella Maroon are top after their 5/1 (64/57) home win over Geraldton Red.

Bill Alford, John DeCastro, Pat Neal and Keith Smith were the standouts for the Maroons, with a solid 26/17 result over Shane Guidice-Nairn’s foursome.

Geraldton Blue claimed five points at home against Denison White with the two separated by two shots at game’s end.

The rink of Peter Reudavey, Kim Trotter, John Burnett and Mal McKenzie was the backbone, with a 26/15 return against the quality of Joel Leeson.

The Seagulls’ Ian Cliff, Roy Brown, Gavin Denton and Molly Pearse kept the match competitive, with a solid 20/10 victory over Mike Ford.

Wonthella Gold won just one rink but claimed the all-important aggregate and four points against Mullewa.

Tony O’Brien, Paul Walton, Wayne Brown and Gary Clark proved the difference with a quality 20-8 win over the Saints quartet skippered by Vince Knight.

Paul Johnson won 17/13 over Steve Palmer with Mick Thompson getting the better of Eddie Dodd, 31/24. In the match-up between Geraldton Red and Wonthella Green, the visiting Greens took the aggregate 70/64 with David Melling, John DeCastro, Joe Beaver and Kevin Exten’s 37/12 return over Wes Jones clearly the difference. The Reds’ Jon Trotter and Gary Cosegrove won against Colin O’Brien and Gary Preston, respectively, to give them confidence going forward.

In the final encounter, Denison recorded a 5/1 (62/59) victory at home against Northampton.

Barry Sweetman, Ian West, Andy Gilchrist and Kim Elliott set up the result with their 24/13 win over Alan Cragan. The Rams’ win came thanks to Dale Maver’s rink of Norn Cowan, Kevin Hall and Phil Johnson, with a 24/12 effort against Geoff Crabb.

Wonthella Green take on Denison Blue in the game of the round this weekend, while Northampton will want to kickstart their season at home against Wonthella Maroon.

At Geraldton the Golds take on Mullewa. Denison White host Geraldton Red, with the final match pitting Wonthella Gold at home against Geraldton Blue.